Keepers share fond memories as beloved Adelaide pandas prepare to depart for China

Keepers at the Adelaide Zoo have shared their private moments with the city's pandas with 9News, as the animals are just days away from returning to China. The keepers expressed their reluctance to see the animals leave, while also recalling the precious times spent with them.

One of the keepers, Aaliyah Hayward, has been with Wang Wang and Fu Ni for almost their entire 15-year journey. She said that learning about their quirks was a part of her job that she really enjoyed. "Fu Ni, she just likes to do her own thing," she said. "She is a very opinionated young lady, she likes all her bamboo..."

"Wang Wang, as I believe everyone knows, he loves a bubble bath," Hayward continued. "He likes anything that smells, and one of his favorite scents is men's old cologne." Another keeper, Gemma Claire, said that she will miss seeing them every morning. "They're usually always sleeping in their hammocks, or sitting in their hammocks waiting for us to come in every morning, so it's very, very nice to see them," she said.

However, the zoo will not be without pandas for long, as new pandas Xing Qiu and Yi Lan are expected to arrive before the end of the year. This brings new anticipation for the zoo's panda enthusiasts and heralds the beginning of a new chapter.